Closure support

ABSTRACT

A releasable support for holding a lid in an open position, against accidental bumping and vibrations, relative to a cabinet. The support has a strut pivotally mounted to the lid and slidably mounted to the cabinet by a headed stud. A U-shaped flat spring having a release section is securely attached to the strut and engages the stud beneath the head maintaining the lid in the open position. The lid is released by further moving the lid away from the cabinet, depressing the release section which raises the leaf spring above the headed stud, and then lowering the lid.

United States Patent Zell .l .0

Primary Examiner-George F. Mautz 'Assislant Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy Attorneys-1.13. Landis and R. P. Miller ABSTRACT: A releasable support for holding a lid in an open position, against accidental bumping and vibrations, relative to a cabinet. The support has a strut pivotally mounted to the lid and slidably mounted to the cabinet by a headed stud. A U- shaped flat spring having a release section is securely attached to the strut and engages the stud beneath the head maintaining the lid in the open position. The lid is released by further moving the lid away from the cabinet, depressing the release section which raises the leaf spring above the headed stud, and then lowering the lid.

CLOSURE surronr BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates to closure supports and more particularly, to a support utilizing a single leaf spring that is shaped to support and release a lid pivotally mounted on a cabinet or receptacle.

2. Problem in the Art and Prior Art In many supports for hinged or pivoted lids of cabinets or receptacles, it is necessary to provide a simply constructed support that will maintain the lid in an open position relative to the cabinet without the problem of having the lid drop from accidental bumping or vibrations. In the past, positive-acting lid supports usually included several working parts resulting in a mechanism that was expensive to construct. Another drawback in these supports was that through extensive use, one or more of the parts would wear or jam, thereby impairing proper functioning of the support.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved support which will continue to maintain a lid in the open position when bumped or vibrated.

A feature of the invention resides in a lid support utilizing a leaf spring that acts to hold the lid in an elevated position and which can be flexed to release the lid. More particularly, the lid support is the essence of simplicity, comprising a slotted strut and a slit leaf spring. The leaf spring is slit to provide one section which is securely attached to the strut and a second section which is bent forming a fulcrum and a lever portion. The lid is held in an elevated or raised position by a stud which projects through the slot to engage the free end of the leaf spring. The lid is released by depressing the lever portion which raises the unsecured portion of the leaf spring about the fulcrum to release the spring from the stud.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a cabinet, a leaf spring and a lid in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, showing the spring maintaining the lid in an open position;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view along line 2--2 of FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the operation of the leaf spring for releasing the lid; and

FIG. 4 is also similar to FIG. 1, showing the relative position of the leaf spring with respect to a holding stud when the lid is being opened or being closed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings attention is first directed to FIG. 1 wherein the reference numeral designates a portion of a cabinet to which a lid 11 is pivotally mounted by a hinge 12. A lid support comprises a strut or arm 13 and a leaf spring 14, having a leading or stop edge 15 at the lower left in FIG. 1. The strut 13 is attached pivotally at one end to the lid 11 by a cap screw 16 or any other suitable pivot member. Running longitudinally on the strut 13 is an elongated guideway in the form of a slot 17 extending through and along a substantial portion of the length of the strut 13. Mounted in a side panel 18 of the cabinet 10 is a lid-holding stud 19 having a frustoconical head 20 formed thereon. (See also FIG. 2) The stud l9 protrudes through the slot 17 of the strut 13 and the head 20 overlays the edges of the slot 17. In the open position of the lid, shown in FIG. 1, the leading edge 15 of the leaf spring 14 fits under the head 20 and rests against the shank of lid-holding stud 19. This operates to prevent accidental closing of the lid 11 as a result of bumping or vibrations, as will be discussed in more detail hereafter.

The leaf spring 14 is provided with a longitudinally running slit 21 extending from the upper right end as viewed in FIG. 1,

to provide a U-shaped structure consisting of a pair of legs 22 and 23 connected by a latching, bridge section 24. The upper right section of the leg 22 of the leaf spring 14 is securely attached to the strut 13 by a pair of screws or rivets 26, which hold that section of the leaf spring 14 flat against the strut I3. Particular attention is drawn to the structure of the leg 23 which is shaped and positioned to span the slot 17. The leg 23 is bent along a fulcrum line 27 to provide a camming surface 28 veering away from the front side 29 of the strut 13. A second section of the leg 23 is bent along line 30 to provide a lever, or finger-release section 31 that is spaced from and parallel to the front side 29 of the strut 13. The lever section 31 is spaced a sufficient distance from the front side 29 of the strut 13 that depressing the lever section toward the front side 29 pivots the leg 23 of the leaf spring 14 about the fulcrum line 27 as shown in FIG. 3. This action also pivots the bridge section 24 away from the head 20 and incidentally pivots the upper leg 22 from a point just to the left of the left-hand rivet 26.

OPERATION Assume that the lid 1 1 is held in the open position as shown in FIG. 1. In order to close the lid, the operator will further raise the lid; that is, turn it clockwise to the right as viewed in FIG. 1. Movement of the lid slides the slot 17 of the strut [3 along the lid-holding stud 19 until the stud engages the end of the slot 17, as shown in FIG. 3. In this position, the latching, bridge section 24 is disengaged from the lid-holding stud I9 and clears head 20. After the bridge section 24 has cleared the head 20, lever section 31 is depressed, as shown in FIG. 3, pivoting the spring 14 about fulcrum line 27 to a position above the top of the head 20. The lid is now released and can then be moved toward cabinet 10, to the left as viewed in FIG. 3. As the slot 17 moves relative to the lid holding stud 19, the raised leading edge 15 of the bridge sectionv 24 engages the tapered slope of the head 20 and is cammed outward so that the edge 15 may pass over the head 20 as shown in FIG. 4. Now, the lever section 31 may be released allowing the underside of the bridge section 24 to ride over the head 20 as illustrated in FIG. 4. Further movement of the lid to the left slides leg 23 over the head 20 until the lid closes.

To open the cabinet 10, the operator need only raise the lid 11. As the lid is moved to the open position, or to the right, slot 17 moves along the stud 19 until the tapered wall of the head 20 is engaged by camming surface 28, at which time the leg 23 is flexed away from the strut l3. Continued movement of the lid slides the leg 23 over the head 20 until the head is disengaged, at which time the leg 23 flexes against the strut 13 (from the FIG. 4 to the FIG. 1 position). The lid is then released, so that it pivots counterclockwise by gravity until the leading edge 15 of the latching, bridge section 24 slides under the head 20 and engages the shank of the stud 19. This prevents further pivoting of the lid 11 and maintains the lid in the open position as previously discussed.

With this arrangement, it can be seen that a positive-acting latch, or lid support has been provided, in which unwanted vibrations or accidental bumping cannot release the lid. In particular, accidental bumping of the finger-release section 31 will not release the latch mechanism because the leading edge 15 of the latching, bridge section 24 merely strikes the under surface of the head 20 and will not pivot. Also, raising of the cover 11, from the FIG. 1 position to the FIG. 3 position the short distance permitted by the left end of the slot 17, is ineffective to release the latch since the leading edge 15 will remain flat against the strut 13 and return to the stopping position against the shank of the stud 19 when the lid is released. Release of the latch requires the intentional, conjoint raising of the lid 11 and depression of the finger section 31, followed by lowering the lid a short distance while maintaining the section 31 depressed.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the frustoconical slope of the head 20 defines a sharp comer closely adjacent to the strut 13,

which prevents the spring 14 from accidentally balancing on the head 20 rather than on the shank of the stud 19 as intended.

it is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements and applications may be readily devised by those skilled in the art. For example, the stud head 20 may be eliminated. With a straight stud 19, the lid 11 may be released and lowered by merely flexing the lever section 31 to withdraw the latching edge of the bridge section 24 from engagement with the stud 19 and then lowering the lid.

What is claimed is:

1. In a releasable device for supporting a first member in spaced relation to a second member:

a bar mounted at one end to the first member, said bar having a longitudinal slot extending from the vicinity of a first end to the vicinity of the other end;

a stud mounted on the second member and projecting through said slot; and

a leaf spring overlying said slot and secured at one end to said bar at a point adjacent to said mounted end, said leaf spring terminating at one end in a stop edge engaging said stud to hold said first and second members in spaced relation, said leaf spring having a slit extending from the secured end thereof to form a release section overlying said slot;

said release section having a section veering away from said bar to form a depressible lever for pivoting said stop edge from engagement with said stud.

2. A releasable support for holding a lid in open position on a cabinet, which comprises:

a strut pivotally mounted at one end to the lid, said strut having a guideway;

a headed stud securely attached to the cabinet passing through and projecting beyond said guideway of said strut, with the head of said stud overlying at least one edge of said guideway; and

a flat spring having a U+shape, secured at one end to the strut, the other end of said U-shaped flat spring being urged against said strut and forming a release section overlying said guideway and passing under said head to engage said stud;

said release section having a lever portion for pivoting said release section away from said strut upon the lid being moved away from the cabinet a distance sufficient to move the release section from beneath said head.

3. A latching mechanism for use with a closure member movably mounted on a frame, which comprises:

a strut having a longitudinal slot extending along a substantial portion of the length of said strut;

means for pivotally mounting one end of said strut to the closure member;

a stud mounted on the frame and projecting through said slot, said stud having a frustoconical head overlying the longitudinal edges of said slot; and

a leaf spring secured at one end to said strut and overlying said slot, said leaf spring having a slit extending from the secured end to form said leaf spring into two sections one of which overlies said slot, said overlying section being bent away from said strut to form a camming surface for engaging said head of said stud to deflect said leaf spring away from said strut as the closure member is moved away from the frame, said leaf spring being of a length shorter than the length of said slot to permit said deflected leaf spring to drop behind said stud to hold the closure spaced from the frame.

4. A mechanism for latching a lid in open position on a cabinet, which comprises:

a bar pivotally mounted on the lid, said bar having a longitudinal guideway;

a headed stud mounted on the cabinet and projecting through said guideway with the head of said stud overlyingtheedges of said guidewaiy; and ea spring secured at one en to said bar and having a longitudinal slit extending from the secured end to form a free side section overlying said guideway, said other end of said leaf spring being urged against said bar to engage said projecting stud beneath said head, said side section having a section bent away from said bar a distance greater than the length of said projecting stud for pivoting said engaged end of said leaf spring from said stud to allow moving of the lid to a closed position and for camming said leaf spring away from said bar as the lid is moved from a closed to an open position relative to the cabinet.

5. An improved latching device for releasably holding a first member in spaced relation to a second member, of the type having a slotted strut mounted to one member to slide with respect to a stud mounted on the other member and projecting through the slot in the strut, wherein the improvement comprises:

a leaf spring mounted on the strut for movement therewith and having a stop edge normally spring biased against the strut and positioned to engage a portion of the stud when the members have been opened a predetermined distance, to prevent closure of the members, the spring also having a release portion which may be manually actuated to pivot the stop edge away from the stud a sufficient distance that portions of the spring may ride over the stud to permit closure of the members only when the release portion has been actuated. 

1. In a releasable device for supporting a first member in spaced relation to a second member: a bar mounted at one end to the first member, said bar having a longitudinal slot extending from the vicinity of a first end to the vicinity of the other end; a stud mounted on the second member and projecting through said slot; and a leaf spring overlying said slot and secured at one end to said bar at a point adjacent to said mounted end, said leaf spring terminating at one end in a stop edge engaging said stud to hold said first and second members in spaced relation, said leaf spring having a slit extending from the secured end thereof to form a release section overlying said slot; said release section having a section veering away from said bar to form a depressible lever for pivoting said stop edge from engagement with said stud.
 2. A releasable support for holding a lid in open position on a cabinet, which comprises: a strut pivotally mounted at one end to the lid, said strut having a guideway; a headed stud securely attached to the cabinet passing through and projecting beyond said guideway of said strut, with the head of said stud overlying at least one edge of said guideway; and a flat spring having a U-shape, secured at one end to the strut, the other end of said U-shaped flat spring being urged against said strut and forming a release section overlying said guideway and passing under said head to engage said stud; said release section having a lever portion for pivoting said release section away from said strut upon the lid being moved away from the cabinet a distance sufficient to move the release section from beneath said head.
 3. A latching mechanism for use with a closure member movably mounted on a frame, which comprises: a strut having a longitudinal slot extending along a substantial portion of the length of said strut; means for pivotally mounting one end of said strut to the closure member; a stud mounted on the frame and projecting through said slot, said stud having a frustoconical head overlying the loNgitudinal edges of said slot; and a leaf spring secured at one end to said strut and overlying said slot, said leaf spring having a slit extending from the secured end to form said leaf spring into two sections one of which overlies said slot, said overlying section being bent away from said strut to form a camming surface for engaging said head of said stud to deflect said leaf spring away from said strut as the closure member is moved away from the frame, said leaf spring being of a length shorter than the length of said slot to permit said deflected leaf spring to drop behind said stud to hold the closure spaced from the frame.
 4. A mechanism for latching a lid in open position on a cabinet, which comprises: a bar pivotally mounted on the lid, said bar having a longitudinal guideway; a headed stud mounted on the cabinet and projecting through said guideway with the head of said stud overlying the edges of said guideway; and a leaf spring secured at one end to said bar and having a longitudinal slit extending from the secured end to form a free side section overlying said guideway, said other end of said leaf spring being urged against said bar to engage said projecting stud beneath said head, said side section having a section bent away from said bar a distance greater than the length of said projecting stud for pivoting said engaged end of said leaf spring from said stud to allow moving of the lid to a closed position and for camming said leaf spring away from said bar as the lid is moved from a closed to an open position relative to the cabinet.
 5. An improved latching device for releasably holding a first member in spaced relation to a second member, of the type having a slotted strut mounted to one member to slide with respect to a stud mounted on the other member and projecting through the slot in the strut, wherein the improvement comprises: a leaf spring mounted on the strut for movement therewith and having a stop edge normally spring biased against the strut and positioned to engage a portion of the stud when the members have been opened a predetermined distance, to prevent closure of the members, the spring also having a release portion which may be manually actuated to pivot the stop edge away from the stud a sufficient distance that portions of the spring may ride over the stud to permit closure of the members only when the release portion has been actuated. 